A reminder that local artist Colwyn Campbell will host her Watercolours & Wine Workshop this coming Saturday 14 May. The Workshop will commence at 4 pm at the Paluma Community Hall. The Workshop is FREE.
Colwyn plans to bring along a few objects to set up as subject matter for a still-life. However, if you have your own trinkets or treasures that you’ve been wanting to paint, please bring them along. Colwyn asks that each person bring along three small items like a jug, bottle, vase or jewellery box, of varying sizes and shapes, that can be suitably arranged into simple compositions for a painting.
Colwyn has some art supplies, but if you have your own brushes, paints, paper and other supplies, please bring them along. Bringing along your own brushes if you have them (size 7 or 8 or thereabouts) would be most helpful.
The Workshop will be a fun activity and hopefully the participants will have something to take home to show for their efforts!
The Bar will be open for drinks and please bring along some nibbles to share if you feel so inclined.
The crowd was rowdy, the enthusiasm was high, the competition was fierce and the skills were varied……
That about sums up the second annual Games Night hosted by Peter and Dorothy Klumpp last Saturday night (7 May) at the Paluma Community Hall.
More than 25 people attended the Games Night and we started the evening with a practice run of the various games set up by Peter Klumpp and his volunteers. There was carpet bowls, table tennis, mini-table tennis, darts, mini golf, throwing cans and the very popular table soccer. Before the main event, the crowd enjoyed a sausage sizzle cooked by Lynda, complete with her delicious coleslaw.
The competition began with the drawing of 10 teams of 2 people – 1 male and 1 female in each team. Peter’s roster for the rotation of the 10 teams through the various games had us all organised with a system to rival the best mathematical tables. The system worked (a bit like herding cats) and the games began. There was frenetic activity, sweating, cheering, shouting, laughing, swearing and a fair bit of cheating as the competition heated up, especially at the carpet bowls, table tennis and the table soccer. ‘Bend it like Beckham’ took on a whole new meaning at the soccer table!
Without any doubt the evening was a great success and a great deal of fun. The Grand Champions on the night were Big Mark and Ros taking out first prize as the overall winning team. There were four teams who came second as runners up – Jill and Neil, Jamie and Jodie, Michele and Mark and Dorothy and Les. The winners were presented with trophies, gold medals and chocolates.
Big Mark gets the award for the most athletic moves of the games whilst simultaneously playing table tennis and carpet bowls. We will call it the ‘A over T back flip in pike position, ending in a front tuck reverse commando roll’. The ground definitely moved for all those who witnessed this feat and who were in close proximity!. Come to think of it, Mark spent quite a bit of time rolling around on the carpet bowls mat on the night?!
Despite the thrills and spills of the night, fortunately no injuries were sustained (or none that we’ve heard about), but it’s possible that some participants were reaching for the Dencorub by Sunday morning…..?. My only complaint was a sore face from laughing and cheering (mostly for myself) on the night.
Barman Les reported a roaring trade for the evening. The takings for the bar and sausage sizzle were some $420.00, so the big winner from Games Night is the community with important funds being raised for the PDCA.
A very big thank you to Peter and Dorothy for the initiative and for running the Games Night and to Lynda for volunteering at the BBQ. It was great to see new residents Ros and Wayne from Lennox Crescent join in the fun and we welcome you to the village. We hope that we haven’t scared you away!
Well done Paluma. A great night, a lot of fun and a community spirit that shines. Check out the following photos from the night!
Text by Michele Bird, with photos by Michele Bird, Wendy Crisp and Les Hyland.
A reminder that the second annual Games Night at the Community Hall will take place this coming Saturday 7th May from 5 pm.
Hosted by Peter and Dorothy Klumpp this not-to-be-missed event will include a range of indoor and outdoor games (the latter will be weather pending and/or until it gets dark). Whether you are into darts, table tennis, carpet bowls, pétanque or hop-scotch, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Come along to beat your friends and neighbours in a bit of friendly rivalry and competition.
For those who have worked up an appetite from the games, a Sausage Sizzle will be held from 6pm to 7 pm on the Hall verandah. Lynda will be cooking the snags on the bbq and she is making her delicious coleslaw. The Sausage Sizzle will cost $3.00 per serve with all proceeds to the PDCA. The Bar will be open from 5 pm with Barman Les in his usual role.
Come along and join in the fun. If last year is anything to go by, there will be a lot of laughs, some fierce competition and a fair bit of cheating!
Anyone who spent some time at Paluma Village over the ANZAC Day long weekend doesn’t need me to tell them it was wet, wet, wet!
Finally there has been some respite from the relatively dry weather over the early months of 2022 with good rainfall totals in the BOM gauge at the Village Green over the past few days. In case you were wondering how much rain we’ve had in the village, here’s a quick snapshot of the weekend totals, noting that these recordings are made each morning between approximately 7.30 am and 8.30 am. Recorders are Barry Smith, Peter Cooke and/or Michele Bird.
Friday 22 April – 145 mm
Saturday 23 April – 48.5 mm
Sunday 24 April – 24.8 mm
Monday 25 April – 65.4 mm
Tuesday 26 April – 144 mm
That’s a whopping total of 427.7 mm over the past five days!
The good news from around the village is that many of the empty rainwater tanks on the outer village blocks (in the Republic) are now overflowing. Don at Hussey Road reported that his dam is full and that was early on Monday morning before the additional 144 mm of rain over the 24 hours to Tuesday morning.
Fortunately, the rain eased off slightly at 6 am Monday morning just in time for fifteen very hardy Paluma residents to mark ANZAC Day with our version of the Dawn Service. Daylight broke with the raising of the flag, the Last Post and a minute of silence. We shared ANZAC biscuits and then headed home for a hot cuppa. Special thanks to Len and Lynda for their efforts in contributing to the Dawn Service.
An added note is that the good rainfall means that the drive up and down the Paluma Range Road is pretty spectacular just now with all creeks and waterfalls in rapid flow. I snapped a few iPhone photographs yesterday (25 April) at some of my favourite spots along the way.
Twin Falls 1Twin Falls 2. Looks like the geotech guys have added some notes to the rock wall!Crystal Creek Bridge 1Crystal Creek Bridge 2The beautiful Fairy Falls.
Text & Photos by Michele Bird with recent rainfall readings contributed by Barry Smith and Michele Bird.
Paluma Rural Fire Brigade (PRFB) wish to sincerely thank the following people for the very successful fundraising event of $400 for the Brigade at the recent Book Stall at the Easter Sunday market.
Peter and Jan Cooke and George and Kathryn McNaughton for their very generous donation of many books for resale which were pouring out the doors in people’s arms. Also to Jan for donating the proceeds of her home-made cooking to the cause and for her brilliant idea in the first place and making it happen. It is very much appreciated.
Ross Hyne, PRFB First Officer & Sonya Bryce, PRFB Secretary/Treasurer
The Paluma Community Market was held Easter Sunday (17 April). After two days of splendid fine and sunny Autumn weather on Good Friday and Saturday (15 and 16 April), the rain descended early on Sunday morning and it didn’t lift all day. It was a cool, drizzly and generally miserable day weather-wise, but that didn’t stop large crowds from attending the market.
All stall holders reported brisk trade on the day. The Sausage Sizzle did a roaring trade and was all sold out by lunch time. There was a queue at various times throughout the morning at Jill and Colin’s coffee and tea stall, with hot-cross buns and cake on offer. Peter and Jan’s book stall to raise funds for the Paluma RFB was a great success. Stand-by for a further report from Sonya regarding the proceeds from the stall. Ross and Sonya had the fire truck on display with some important messages about fire safety in the home and in the bush. Ross treated the kids (big and small) to a few short bursts of the fire truck siren. The kids were given free RFB torches, stickers and colouring-in books, putting smiles on many little faces. Many happy customers left the Paluma Market with a new hand-made garment, a plant, pottery, painting or piece of jewellery. Just about everyone left with a book, some of us with a box of books!
Despite the rainy weather, the Paluma Easter Market was hailed as yet another successful market, contributing important fund raising to the PDCA and Paluma RFB. Thanks to all stall holders and volunteers for making the market a success and we will see you all in the last weekend in June (Sunday 26 June) for a bumper Bush Dance Market.
Text by Michele Bird & Photos by Michele Bird & Juanita Poletto.
The Paluma community came together last Saturday evening (20 March 2022) to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. An enthusiastic crowd of about 30 people joined in the celebrations at the Community Hall, many adorned in shades of green.
As usual, there was a feast on offer with many Irish inspired dishes including colcannon, Irish stew, corned beef, Guinness pies and an array of other gourmet dishes. Just when you thought you could not possibly eat anymore, Tony arrived with BBQ chicken and the best roast potatoes I’ve eaten for a long time. What good Celt can resist a spud, so I found room for two more! Dessert then followed with apple crumble, lime cheesecake and Jennie’s Guinness chocolate cake. It was melt in the mouth.
Leprechaun Leslie entertained the crowd with some (clean) Irish jokes. Peter Cooke impressed with his vast knowledge of Irish history and culture taking out the St. Paddy’s night quiz. Jack was banned from using Google this year, so for once he didn’t win the competition. Even with some rampant cheating, Michele could not beat Peter to take out the prize of a free drink at the bar. Several patrons were lucky enough to find a ‘Shamrock Scratchy’ under their seat, but no one will be giving up their day job any time soon as there were no big winners on the night. The luck of the Irish…..?
It was great to see so many attendees at this Social and a very good time was had by all. Several of our newest residents to Paluma attended and we had the opportunity to welcome them to the village and introduce them to new friends and neighbours. It’s all about community!
Long-time resident of Paluma Colwyn Campbell is a renowned artist whose life’s passion has been to paint and capture on canvas the wonders of nature and the natural environment. Her rainforest paintings inspired by the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and other places across northern Australia have been exhibited several times in Darwin and throughout North Queensland.
In 1995 whilst living in Darwin, Colwyn spent just over a year creating a rainforest-inspired painting of a large python or carpet snake. Colwyn says that the painting was basically inspired by her love for the rainforests of Australia and the creatures of the forest. Her chosen theme for her artwork in 1995 was to paint snakes! The result of Colwyn’s long year of painting is an enormous and impressive piece of artwork, measuring nearly 2 metres in height and more than 2.5 metres in width.
The full canvas of Colwyn’s stunning representation of a python in the rainforest.
Colwyn exhibited her painting at an art show in Darwin in 1996. A close friend of Colwyn’s purchased the painting and he has enjoyed it in his home in Darwin for the past 25 years. In recent months, Colwyn’s friend has moved house and in down-sizing to an apartment he no longer has the room to hang this rather sizeable artwork. The painting was offered back to Colwyn and was subsequently rolled up and shipped to Townsville.
The rolled canvas made its way to Geoff Jensen at Top Frames in Townsville and it has been expertly stretched and mounted on a frame. The immense size of the framed artwork meant that it was a challenge to transport it to Paluma. None of us could fit it safely in our vehicles and Geoff recently made a special trip up the range in his large van to deliver the work to Colwyn.
In a remarkably kind gesture, Colwyn recently gifted the artwork to Wilfred who shares her love of the rainforest and the natural environment. Wilfred and Suzanne plan to hang the painting at the Cavilcade Guesthouse for locals and visitors to admire and enjoy for years to come. Indeed, there are probably few homes in Paluma that would have a wall big enough to accommodate this stunning but particularly large painting!
A more detailed view of the painting and the python.
It seems rather fitting that this splendid painting of a python will hang in Paluma to be enjoyed by many. Pythons are of course common in our village and the surrounding wet tropics rainforest. We see them on a regular basis, especially in the warmer months of the year. A sighting always generates great news, excitement and wonder amongst the local community. These amazing creatures are also of immense cultural significance to Aboriginal people and the original inhabitants of the wet tropics rainforest region.
The Paluma village lies within the homelands of the Nywaigi People. The Nywaigi People along with their neighbours to the south, the Gurambilbarra Wulgurukaba People from Ross River to Rollingstone and the neighbours to the east, the Manbarra People from the Palm Island Group and offshore islands, share a common creation story. The central creation story and myth cycle is focused on Gabul – the carpet snake, whose travels between the Herbert River and the Ross River created the coastline, the eastern coastal ranges and the offshore islands in Halifax Bay and Cleveland Bay. From the Traditional Owners point of view, Gabul created this landscape and Gabul looks after this country.
It’s great to know that Colwyn’s painting inspired so many years ago in Darwin will now hang in Paluma. It has travelled a long way to be here. Thanks to Colwyn’s generosity, we will have the opportunity to admire this artwork into the future and we have our own rather unique representation of ‘Gabul’ to remind us of the immeasurable natural and cultural values of this place. As Colwyn transitions to living on the coast in the coming months, we also have a rather special reminder of our talented friend, a mentor for many and a stalwart of this little community.
Text & Photos by Michele Bird with the kind permission of Colwyn Campbell & Wilfred Karnoll.
The 2022 Paluma Social Calendar is out and it promises to be a jam-packed year of social events and activities. We have tried to cater for all interests with a diverse range of events planned over the course of the year. Whether you’re into dancing, dining, fungi, frogs, cycling, cooking, yarning, relaxing, running, raging, bird watching, bocce, gardening, history, hiking, table tennis, trivia, nature or the arts, there is surely something for everyone to participate in and enjoy. If you can’t find something to do at Paluma, then you’re just not trying!
In addition to the PDCA Social Events, there are the many other activities going on around the village from time to time with the Townsville Bushwalking Club, the Paluma After Dark Club, Outer Limits Adventures and other group activities. We will endeavour to let you know about these events as they come up over the course of the year.
The PDCA Social Sub-Committee is always happy to hear from Paluma residents with suggestions for future events and activities. We’d love to hear your ideas, so please let us know by having a chat with Lynda, Michele or Lynn.
Below is a quick snapshot of some of the many activities on the 2022 Paluma Social Calendar. Stay tuned to the website for regular reminders and updates throughout the year.
Join in people. You only live once and what a great place to live!
Planned Social Events in 2022
Saturday 19 March 6.30 PM – St. Patricks Night
Saturday 23 April 12.00 PM – PDCA Annual General Meeting & Free BBQ Lunch
Saturday 7 May 5.00 PM – Games Night with Captain Klumpp & Sausage Sizzle
Saturday 14 May 4.00 PM – Watercolours & Wine Workshop with Colwyn Campbell
Sunday 17 April – Paluma Market
Saturday 25 June 12.00 PM – Bush Dance with Wattle n Gum & BBQ Lunch
Well it’s that time of the year again. In the middle of March it’s time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The Paluma community will hold a Social on Saturday 19th March to acknowledge St. Patrick’s Day and all things Irish. The celebrations will kick off at 6.30 pm at the Community Hall.
Come as you are, or come dressed in your best resplendent Irish gear. Everyone will be green with envy!
Please bring a dish to share. Savoury or sweet, hot or cold. It can be an Irish-inspired dish if you choose. Everybody’s favourite leprechaun Les Hyland will be at the Bar to serve low cost beverages.
Everyone is welcome, especially newcomers to the village. Come and meet your new friends and neighbours and enjoy some good conversation and fun, Paluma-style. See you there!
